~The little trees that could~

"Like clouds that bent down and touched the ground"

That's what I always thought about my beloved little Flowering Crab Apple Trees

Here they are in all their glory, several years ago.

They really were quite the show stoppers.
Their branches reached out and intertwined  with one another creating a natural arbor, a bower of blooms over head.

My little concrete bench tucked between the two, has always been a favorite spot

Then we were dealt a cruel blow. The ice storm of Jan 2007
Brrrrrr.... makes me shiver just to look at the pictures

Then a tornado

Of course I thought they were goners....and I cried

Ahhh, but Mr. Wonderful never takes no for an answer. He came up with a cure, in his indomitable McGyver fashion.

So this is a testament to the power of Mother Nature to heal  herself, and also to the steely determination of Mr. Wonderful who coaxed and cajoled these two trees into believing that they would be ok.

A  shadow of their former selves, maybe, but I love them all the more for it.

Here they are the very next Spring. A little less proud and a little less showy

but standing none the less

You can see there are still several dead branches where the two trees meet that still had to be removed.

and now here they are this Spring 2012
Getting a little stronger every year

No natural arbor, no bower overhead
But....
 Standing as tall as they are able
 and blooming for all they're worth.

And I am grateful for every blossom.